Depth-marking system arrangement for implant holes in the jawbone

Abstract

A depth-marking system for use in connection with forming holes for receiving implants in a jawbone. The implants have a nominal length less than an actual length. At least one band marking is arranged on a tool for forming or measuring the implant holes. The at least one band marking includes a first line that indicates the actual hole depth, the actual depth including any lower cone-shaped portion of the hole. The at least one band marking also includes a second line above the first line that indicates a position of an uppermost of a unit arranged on the implant when the implant is in a final position in the hole and the unit is arranged in a final position on the implant.

We claim: 
     
       1. A depth marking system for use in connection with forming holes for receiving implants in a jawbone, the implants having a nominal length less than an actual length, comprising: at least one band marking arranged on a tool for performing at least one function selected from the group consisting of forming the implant holes and measuring the implant holes, said at least one band marking including a first line that indicates an actual hole depth, the actual hole depth including any lower cone-shaped portion of the hole, said at least one band marking also including a second line above said first line that indicates a position of an uppermost portion of a unit arranged on the implant when the implant is in a final position in the hole and the unit is arranged in a final position on the implant.   
     
     
       2. The depth marking system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of band markings on the tool, each band marking including a first line and a second line, wherein the first line and the second line of adjacent band markings overlap. 
     
     
       3. The depth marking system according to claim 2, wherein all of the band markings have substantially equal lengths. 
     
     
       4. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the first line is at a lower limit of the at least one band and the second line is at the upper limit of the at least one band. 
     
     
       5. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the unit is selected from the group consisting of a cover screw, a cap, and a hood. 
     
     
       6. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the tool is selected from the group consisting of a drill bit, a countersinking bit, and a depth gauge. 
     
     
       7. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the tool is a countersinking drill bit for producing a countersinking in an upper part of the implant hole, wherein a length of the countersinking portion of the countersinking drill bit essentially corresponds to a width of the at least one band. 
     
     
       8. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the tool is a drill bit that includes a conical tip, wherein the length of the conical tip essentially corresponds to a difference between the nominal length of the implant and the actual length of the implant. 
     
     
       9. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one band corresponds to an implant length. 
     
     
       10. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the second line facilitates a determination of depth of the hole where the first line is not easily viewed during formation of the hole. 
     
     
       11. The depth marking system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of band markings and an intermediate space between said band markings, wherein said band markings indicate every second implant length, and each intermediate space forms a depth-marking band for each intermediate implant length, a difference between two adjacent implant lengths being essentially the same size as the spacing between a connection plane on an upper part of an implant and an upper part of said unit when arranged on said implant. 
     
     
       12. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the tool is a drill bit that includes a cone-shaped tip, and wherein a length of the cone-shaped tip substantially corresponds to the difference between the nominal size of the implant and the true length of the implant. 
     
     
       13. The depth marking system according to claim 1, wherein the first line indicates the nominal length of the implant and a position of a connection plane on the implant that the unit will rest upon when arranged on the implant. 
     
     
       14. A depth gauge system for use in forming a bore in dentine, the bore for receiving an implant, the implant being capable of receiving a covering screw having a cap, comprising: a device for performing at least one function selected from the group consisting of forming said bore and measuring a depth of said bore;   a plurality of band markings on said device, each band marking having a first border line for indicating an absolute depth of the bore including any cone shaped portion of the bore and a second border line for indicating a level above the first border line;   wherein the implant has a nominal length that is less than the true length of the implant, and the first border line and second border line indicate levels corresponding to the level of the covering screw and the cap when the implant is in a final position in the bore and the covering screw and the cap are positioned on the implant.   
     
     
       15. The depth gauge system device according to claim 14, wherein the device includes a drill bit for forming the bore, the drill bit including band markings, the device also including a depth gauge that includes band markings having a height and spacing that correspond to the height and spacing of the band markings on the drill bit. 
     
     
       16. The depth gauge system device according to claim 14, wherein the device is a countersink drill bit including a countersink portion for forming a cone-shaped portion in an upper portion of the bore, and a distance between the first border line and the second border line substantially corresponds to a height of the countersink portion. 
     
     
       17. The depth gauge system device according to claim 14, wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of drill bits, countersink drill bits, and depth gauges. 
     
     
       18. The depth gauge system according to claim 14, wherein the tool is a drill bit that includes a cone-shaped tip, and wherein a length of the cone-shaped tip substantially corresponds to the difference between the nominal size of the implant and the true length of the implant.